A yak is a type of large, four-legged animal similar to a water buffalo that were predicted to be a ride-able mount in the Mists of Pandaria expansion based on a tweet by Bashiok[1] and a video at WoW Insider.[2] Unfortunately, they were confirmed by blue post to not be the pandaren racial mount.[3]

These beasts of burden are know to carry over five times their own weight and are capable of lasting several days without food or water.

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The bond between yak and yakrat is a strange one, and what the rat gains out of the symbiotic relationship is a mystery.

Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration.

Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle. Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, yaks may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

^Wryxian 2012-03-27. #6 - Pandaren mount is a yak?. Official Mists of Pandaria Beta > Mists of Pandaria forum (EU). So no, the Yak mounts are not the racial mounts for Pandaren. We're still thinking about how we want Yak mounts to be obtained.